Month: March 2009

About an hour of my afternoon was pretty much shot today after locking my keys inside my truck. All had rolled along pretty good, or so I thought, until I got back to my office and had that sickening feeling just as I shut the door that my keys were inside.

Ah but no worry. I had a spare made after the last time I did this and stuck it inside my wallet. Inside my wallet. It was supposed to be inside my wallet. Where was the damn thing? There were two other keys in my wallet that I have no earthly idea what they opened, if anything. But a spare pickup door key, not to be confused with my pickup ignition key, was nowhere to be found.

Finally I decided to call the good ol’ locksmith. He said that he could be there in about 15 minutes and he was pretty close on the money. Speaking of money, it took him about a minute to open my door. He made me another spare key on the spot (ignition it turned out) in about another minute and within two minutes had earned himself $30. That’s not bad for him. It also isn’t that bad for me. My door was opened and now I have my keys. Thirty dollars is not a terrible amount of money either although when one is four days or so from payday, it’s more than I would have liked to shell out.

But I have my keys. I learned a valuable lesson — keep your head out of your ass. Live (frugally) and learn.

While reading about so-called “recession and depression proof jobs” I was not surprised to learn that mechanics fall in such categories. One would think when money is extremely tight that they would hang on to their jalopies rather than buy a new set of wheels.

It also occurred to me that probably some of the mechanics’ business may come from those who try to save some bucks by working on their own vehicles but just screw it up even worse. Screwing up a DIY car repair, of course, is much easier to accomplish these days than say 30-to-40 years ago when cars had less computers and wires as well as having engine compartments large enough for one to take a nap.

Even what were once the simplest tasks in automobile repair or maintenance such as changing spark plugs have been made difficult. It seems sometimes that the auto makers put in a bunch of wires and hoses under the hood that seem to have no function other than ensuring a mechanic — especially a dealership mechanic — works on the vehicle.

I mention this as I am looking for instructions on how to change out the driver’s side safety belt in my pickup. Just looking at the harness one would think the task would be relatively simple but as I noted nothing is simple anymore with respect to automobile repair. This is as well made worse by the fact that I have the mechanical aptitude of an inch worm. The replacement is necessary because the belt has become worn which is really nothing short of amazement since this will be the third safety belt I have had to replace on my Toyota Tacoma. The first was when the truck was still under drive train warranty. The second one was a year later and the same dealership installed it for free amazingly enough. The present belt managed to remain in good condition until recently.

No doubt I will do a careful cost-benefit and see who wins, the mechanic or me. I know who I would bet on at this point.